A Different Deer Encounter

Back around the turn of the century, I designed a stormwater corridor for the southeast corner of Iowa City. It was built in 2001, coming in under budget at $2.6 million. It consists of a chain of 22 wetlands gently stairstepping down a valley (“the Corridor”), and they empty into a set of three nested wetlands (“the Outlet Wetlands”).

The system has been doing a good job of cleaning up stormwater runoff from suburban and agricultural land, two storms illustrated:

The whole system was also designed as wildlife habitat, and beavers later took over management of the Outlet Wetlands. The South Sycamore Trail runs the length of the system, from Grant Wood School in the headwaters to the city Soccer Park on a bottomland terrace.

Map of the South Sycamore Greenway

The lower and wilder portions of the system are on the very edge of city limits, and the deer seem to understand this. Once the hunting season opens, they are found more often on the city side of the boundary, which allows no hunting.

I still bike the trail and on November 1st had a most interesting encounter. Coming around a curve at excessive speed I found a six-point buck standing more-or-less broadside across the pavement, in a valley crossing with coarse riprap on either side. Closing fast, I realized that he had no intention of moving, and not having time to think this through, I decided to play the game his way. I waved my arms above my head (relinquishing for a moment what little control I had on my trajectory) and yelled a growling sound. Grabbing the handlebars again, I aimed for his ribs, hoping he would absorb some of my energy and maybe keep me out of the riprap. He apparently understood my intent and the next moment stepped aside just enough to let me roll by, still on the pavement.

This is the peak of their breeding season and the bucks are determined to strut their stuff as long as a more dominant individual is not around to challenge them. My little show might have left him momentarily confused about dominance because amongst many larger mammal species, stepping aside just slightly acknowledges dominance and helps prevent unnecessary bloodshed. And combined with my slow speed, compared to an automobile, bought us both enough time for his response to be meaningful.

We humans may have domesticated the landscape, but most of the native wildlife are still wild, especially in parks, preserves, and corridors specifically designed to meet their needs without too much interference.